Kwanza Hall

Kwanza Hall is an American politician currently serving as a city councilman representing District 2 in Atlanta, GA. Hall was first elected to the Atlanta City Council in 2005 and re-elected without opposition in 2009. He represents the neighborhoods of Atlantic Station, Castleberry Hill, Downtown, Home Park, Inman Park, the Marietta Artery, Sweet Auburn and the Martin Luther King Historic District, Midtown, Poncey-Highland, and the Old Fourth Ward. For 2010, he serves as the vice-chair of the City Utilities Committee. He also serves on the Community Development/Human Resources Committee and the Committee on Council.

Kwanza Hall graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied political science.

Before holding elected office, Hall worked in the Fulton County government, and he served as Vice President of Technology for GoodWorks International, a human rights and public service consulting firm co-chaired by Andrew Young. He then moved on to become the Director of Business Development for MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc., a position he currently holds.

In 2002, Hall was elected to the Atlanta Board of Education where he served for three years prior to his election to the Atlanta City Council. During his time on the Atlanta Board of Education, Hall worked toward closing the achievement gap and contributed to reforms that improved the performance of Atlanta Public Schools on statewide tests.

Hall currently represents District 2 on the Atlanta City Council, a post he was elected to in 2005. He was re-elected in 2009 and again in 2013. Among the most notable of the initiatives he has been involved in during his tenure is the Atlanta Beltline project. Hall has also focused strongly on community improvement including land use, historical preservation, and sustainable development of in-town neighborhoods.

In 2016, Hall sponsored legislation that will privatize parts of two downtown Atlanta streets. Hall defended this unprecedented legislation by stating the deal was necessary to redevelop Underground Atlanta and that “all the plans haven’t been revealed yet as negotiations continue, but I think the community will be happy.” WRS Realty is the private developer that received the concession from the city council. There has been criticism, however, due to the lack of public input and prior notification of the deal: News of the street abandonment broke just days before the measure was voted on, leaving almost no chance for concerned residents to weigh in.

Hall serves on the boards of a number of organizations, including the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the Midtown Improvement District, Operation HOPE, the Big Kidz Foundation, the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, Creating Pride, and Midtown Bank.

Hall has been recognized by L.E.A.D Atlanta, the Regional Leadership Institute, Leadership Georgia, and the German Marshall Memorial Fellowship Program.

Hall lives in the Martin Luther King Historic District with his wife, Natalie, and two sons.